COVID-19 is continuing its march across the globe, moving rapidly across countries and communities that have been slow to eliminate social interactions.

Latin America, one of the later regions to be hit hard by cases, now finds itself racing to get ahead of the respiratory disease spread by a highly contagious coronavirus. Borders are being shut in Argentina, Colombia and Chile, with more restrictions expected in the coming days.

If you're a brand that's popular in Mexico, Central America and South America, what can you do to slow the spread of a disease? If you have brick-and-mortar locations, obviously you can install new rules there, and there are always measures that can protect your in-house teams from exposure.

Mercado Libre, however, is an online marketplace—and a huge one, describing itself as the most-visited across Latin America. So it's found a creative way of using its digital branding to encourage safer behaviors.

Thanks to agency Gut, the site now has replaced its handshake logo with an elbow bump, which it's now using across its social media accounts. (San Francisco agency Partners in Crime has made a similar move for itself, as you can see via that same link.)

Will it have much impact? Perhaps not in an obvious way, but these kinds of social cues can be a lot more powerful than people give them credit for.

Remember the first time you heard the phrase "social distancing"? Perhaps not, but I'm guessing you likely laughed at the awkwardness of the phrasing. Now, for many of us, it's a way of life and a guiding principle of our days.

Have you seen other clever ways companies are using their "owned media" to raise awareness of behaviors that can prevent the spread of COVID-19? If so, hit me up at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter. I'd love to see them!

Yours from a very safe distance,

David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com